The Goldmine
by Dragon of Venus
Summary: My mandatory collection of IchiRuki goodness.... Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say. Currently consists of The Perfect Gift and Bring On The Thunder -based on a scene from Ouran High School Host Club-.
1. The Perfect Gift

(December 14-ish)

Once again, Happy Holidays to all! This is a special present for all you IchiRuki fans!

disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo, fa la la la la, la la la la! What is with this song? I don't know, fa la la la la, la la la la! ...Okay. Done.

The Perfect Gift

"Hey."

Rukia looked away from the snowy night outside the window to see Ichigo walk into the room. She smiled gently. "So... how was your Christmas?" she asked.

He shrugged. "My family seemed to have a good day."

"Well, that's great and everything, but..." She adjusted her position on Ichigo's bed to face him. "I'm asking if _you_ did."

"Yeah, I guess," he huffed. "Why'd you have to be so stubborn and stay up here all day? I mean you could've pretended to visit or something and stayed for at least a few minutes."

Rukia grinned slyly. "You mean you missed me?"

"I- I didn't say that!" Ichigo stuttered.

"You didn't have to."

"Shut up!"

She laughed to herself before turning back to the window. "Must be nice though."

He blinked. "What?"

"Spending Christmas with your family.... I never really got to because my brother was always busy, and I didn't have any other family to be with, so..." she trailed off.

"...So you were always alone on Christmas?" he finished.

Rukia shrugged. "It's not like it's the worst thing in the world."

"Yeah, but still..." The room was silent for a moment, then Ichigo remembered something and opened one of his desk drawers. "Oh, I almost forgot..." He took out a small box and held it up in front of her. "I.. got you something," he muttered.

She looked at the box, her eyes wide in surprise. "You... you got me a present?"

Ichigo looked away, his face slightly red. "Yeah, well... I saw it in a store and I thought you might like it."

Rukia slowly walked up to him and took the box. When she opened it, she tried to keep her jaw from dropping as she pulled out a necklace with a cute silver bunny charm. "Oh my gosh..."

"...You like it?" Ichigo asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I think it's the best gift I've ever gotten."

He rose an eyebrow, wondering if he'd heard her right. "Seriously? What, was Byakuya holdin' out on you? 'Cause he seems like the Grinch type--"

"I mean..." she cut him off, "I've gotten some really nice things in the past, but... this means a lot.... Thank you, Ichigo."

Again, he tried to fight the blush he felt rising to his face. He wanted to reply with some kind of obnoxious comeback, but --what with it being Christmas and all-- he felt like being sincere. Just this once. "You, uh... you want me to help you put it on?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Sure."

Ichigo took the necklace as she held back her hair. He gently fastened the clasp around her neck, and peered over her shoulder to see how it looked on her. He gave a slight smile. "Looks nice."

She smiled back. The two were then suddenly aware of just how close they were, and without another moment's hesitation and barely a thought, they kissed.

When they pulled back, they stared at each other, blushing. Then Rukia grinned again. "Well, I could be wrong."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Maybe the necklace wasn't the best gift I ever got."


	2. Bring On The Thunder

(August 26, 5:28 pm)

I've had this idea for Idunno_how_long, and it's finally out in the open! Yay!

Bring On The Thunder

A low rumble echoed through Karakura Town as rain began to fall.

Rukia looked up from her drawing pad cautiously. "Wh-what was that?" she asked, keeping her voice as even as possible.

Ichigo was silent before replying, "I don't hear anything."

She was uncertain of his answer, but accepted it and went back to her drawing. Moments later, she heard the noise again. A small gasp almost escaped her throat, but she gulped it back down and said, "Did you hear it that time?"

As the sound rung out once again, Ichigo rose an eyebrow curiously. "Yeah, I heard it. So what? It's just a little thunder."

"...Y-yeah, you're right." She chuckled nervously. Then the noise grew louder, and brought with it a flash of lightning. Rukia jumped slightly, which caused Ichigo to look at her as if something wasn't quite right with her (and he might not have been wrong...). "I... I-I'm just gonna... go..." She then brought her legs onto her bed and closed herself in her closet-room.

Ichigo blinked. "What the hell...?"

Rukia hugged her legs tightly to her chest as the thunder grew louder still. Every boom brought back the memory of her former lieutenant and how she always regretted that one day... She shut her eyes and tried to force away the tears that were fighting to fall as she heard a soft knocking on her door.

"Rukia?" Ichigo slowly slid open the door. "What are you--" Then he got a good look at her and fell silent for a moment. Then, to her surprise... he let out a small laugh. "Are you scared of thunder?" he said in an almost mocking tone.

"No!" she snapped. "I just. . . don't get along with it."

Ichigo was silent again.

"...Fine," she mumbled. "...A little. It-- it's just that it kinda--"

_Slam._

"...Oh, yeah, that's real nice. Way to kick me while I'm down! Y'know what, go ahead and laugh for all I care, see what happens!... Hey! Ichigo! Can you even hear me?! I'm trying to be mad at you, the least you can do is--" The door flew open again, and Ichigo returned with something in his hand. Rukia lowered her tone as she went on, "W-what are you...?" She trailed off as he placed a pair of headphones over her ears. Immediately, the music flowing out of them drowned out the sound of the thunder. She looked at him in awe. "Ichigo..."

He lifted the headphones slightly from one ear and asked, "Better?"

She nodded wordlessly. Then she said softly, "Thank you."

He gave a small smile. "No problem."

Before Rukia even realized what she was doing, she called as he turned to leave, "Ichigo?" He looked back at her. "Would... would you..."

He smirked. She didn't have to finish for him to understand what she was asking. He sat down next to her, closed the door, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sure."

She breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she closed her eyes and leaned against him. At that moment, Rukia didn't care if that storm lasted forever. Because she knew he'd be there.

XXXX

Awww... I'm so cheesy :p


End file.
